It was pomp and pageantry on 26th December when the Uvwie people led by HRM Dr. Emmanuel E. Sideso, Abe 1 celebrated the 13th Uvwie day with the theme “Promotion of Uvwie Traditional Custom and Culture in the 21st Centrury”
In a welcome address on the occasion, HRM Sideso declared a state of emergency on education in Uvwie Kingdom particularly in the primary school level saying, “Our children must go to School”.
According to him, education is now a priority in Uvwie Kingdom. “We have kept faith with our scholarship scheme since its inception in 2008. The numbers of beneficiaries are ever increasing. In November, 2019, we issued cheques to new and existing beneficiaries worth N3,525,000 made up of 61 students in the primary category, 28 students in junior secondary school and 7 students in senior secondary category. Existing beneficiaries of the scheme are 13 tertiary students, 107 secondary students and 42 primary students.
The Uvwie Monarch disclosed that this year, the scholarship scheme was able to rescue one of our daughters from almost abandoning her quest to become a certified pilot from College of Aviation and Technology, Zaria due to financial difficulty before the scholarship committee approved N1.500,000 for payment of outstanding school fees.
HRM Sideso noted that the theme of this year’s Uvwie Day is very apt as the importance of custom and culture of any nation is the identity of the people from time immemorial but regretted that due to early contact with western civilization, most traditional custom and culture was gradually going into extinction, particularly, our language, marriage and burial ceremonies.
He commended the political parties and security agencies for a peaceful election during the 2019 general elections urging them to sustain this enviable feat during future elections.
In a keynote address, Chief Austine Ukuwrere, the President General, Uvwie General Improvement Union(UGIU) said he was convinced that Uvwie people will be ahead of various societies if only traditional leadership in Uvwie especially the Inuevworo in collaboration with other community leadership structures are able to make concerted efforts to encourage the promotion of Uvwie rich cultural heritage
Present on the occasion were several political and traditional leaders, the state governor’s aides including Hon. Peters Iffie, Special Assistant on Community Development, the Arewa, Yoruba and Edo communities leaders who later paid homage to the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, HRM Dr. Emmanuel E. Sideso.
